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Tagged pop culture

Forty years after it left theaters, 1977’s Star Wars ranks as the second top-grossing film of all time (adjusted for inflation). Its impact on pop culture is immeasurable—from a pretty consistent stream of weird knockoff…

Another Brooklyn is so rich with sound that I can hear it. I want to slide it onto a record player and spin myself back to white go-go boots and Al Green . 1970s. Inimitable young August has moved from Tennessee with her father…

We've spent the past week here on the blog celebrating Banned Books and the f READ om to read whatever you want—banned, challenged, or not. If there's one thing possibly more controversial and/or overblown than the very…

The arrival of 2017 brought numerous throwbacks to popular television shows of the past. A number of reboots have already hit the small screen, with more scheduled to appear by the end of the year. Some people are tired of old…

This summer the Free Library will team up with the Knight Foundation and Niantic , maker of Pokémon , to bring Pokémon GO to five select Philadelphia libraries! PHL17 recently visited Parkway Central Library and talked…

Winter is here and season 7 of Game of Thrones (GoT) starts July 16. Are you ready? I know I am, but if you are one of the few people who doesn’t watch (last season the show averaged 25.1 million viewers , making it one of the…

Today’s #MysteryMonday is also some nostaligia-on-the-19th—we’re catching up with one of our favorite crime capers, the big-hatted, red-coated Carmen Sandiego . She made her debut in 1985 in the at-that-time incredibly…

Superheroes aren't supposed to die—they're larger than life, courageous, fight for what's right, and are here to help and protect us. They are immortal. Adam West, whose double duty portrayal of millionaire playboy…

As the weather turns warmer, schools begin to let out, and people head out of town on vacation, another summer slate of movies is being rolled out in theaters across the country. The "summer blockbuster" is now a perennial…

In advance of our sold-out John Waters Author Event this Saturday, April 29, let’s get some background on the iconic director, writer, actor, art collector, professional hitchhiker, all-around bon vivant, and self-described Pope…

Long before taking the Saturday Night Live stage as the Impersonator-in-Chief, Alec Baldwin starred in a raft of projects on stages and screens both large and small. In his new memoir Nevertheless , the actor lays bare the facts of his…

Pioneer. Innovator. Original. From the first time he slung on a guitar to the first time he belted out a tune, Chuck Berry was all of these things, and much, much more. The music icon passed away this past weekend at the age of 90 , no…

Excited for the new live-action remake of Beauty and the Beast ? Me too... kind of? Maybe? I hope it will be amazing? Either way, good or bad, at least we'll always have all kinds of different literary retellings of the Beauty and…

The Eighth Wonder of the World roars, stomps, and swings his way into a new film this weekend with Kong: Skull Island , a modern-day retelling of the King Kong mythos and the second installment in a much larger planned cinematic…

In the 1970s, the counter culture comedy duo of Cheech and Chong (Richard "Cheech" Marin and Tommy Chong) laughed all the way to el banco as each of their successive bad-boy stoner albums turned gold, were nominated for Grammy…

You'll have to excuse me today, I'm a little tired after watching this weekend's wild awards ceremonies. And no, I don't mean The Oscars (although, #envelopegate would get my vote for "Best Dramedy"!).…

The Anti-Hero figure in pop culture isn't necessarily a new concept but has seemed to become the prevalent form of a "hero" that we see in our media nowadays. The idea of the perfect protagonist has given way to a more…